Overcoming Financial Procrastination

Most people know that they need to actively manage their money. That means reconciling statements, reviewing investment choices, paying bills or making sure that auto-payments are happening, periodically checking for deals or better plan options on services, and learning about money topics so they can be informed consumers. Unfortunately, many people don’t do this. It’s not because they don’t want to, but because there are other things that seem to be more fun or important. They sit down at the computer or desk and jump back up again, eager to do anything but work on their money. Even cleaning the house can look good in comparison to sorting through the figures. It’s

A lot of personal finance is about habits. It was hard to initially get around to setting up and recording all our spending in an Excel spreadsheet, but now that we do I have been fairly diligent about getting it all entered, and even find enjoyment doing it. Listing out a finance “to do” list can be very helpful as well so that you know what you COULD be doing in relation to your personal finances. I find career-related/money-making activities as essential to personal finance as well, so setting aside time to network, update your resume, research opportunities, etc. is also a good thing to regularly set aside time for.

Part of handling finances is making it a habit. I think they say that most habits take 3-6 weeks to stick. When I first had health problems, I literally would forget to do anything. I had to leave myself post-it notes to remind me that I had laundry in the washing machine otherwise I would find it days later and we all know what kind of joy that is. Anyhow if I was forgetting laundry I was also having trouble remembering balancing checkbooks and paying bills, so I picked the day that my disability check would come on and Thursdays became my finance day every week. I would leave myself a post-it and would then do all paperwork necessary that day before errands and grocery shopping was done. I don’t need the Post-its anymore, but my habit is doing my financial paperwork every Wednesday now. It is an ingrained habit. I know before going grocery shopping how much money I have in my account and I know what big bills are coming up in a few weeks, like our estimated taxes that I pay on December 31 so I can get credit for having paid them in 2012. Other than finding a way to have enough money, I know I’m not forgetting things and no late bills.

I’ve done a lot of structuring to make our money management easy. I have a “budget” that’s basically a “fill in the blanks” which I do as soon as I know the paycheck numbers. Bills are all on autopilot, except a few occasional, local ones which I -definitely- procrastinate on paying. Luckily those are just a phone call, so still only one step instead of several. Investments are all automatic, solid, long term, so better to ignore anyway (our choice). Finally, my financial software automatically takes care of downloading, reconciling, etc. I briefly check the numbers nightly, before shutting down the computer, and am aware enough of what we spend, that there are seldom surprises.
I have to say, though, that my most dreaded task is preparing and filing for FSA reimbursement. There’s just something about the forms and the overall bureaucracy that makes it dreadfully dull, and just a pain. If I had to file for all insurance payments, I’d be sunk for sure!